Speechless

We arrived home last night this morning just after midnight after a weeklong Alaskan cruise and a Seattle stay over. We had been gone so long, the cat hid under the couch until she decided/remembered that we are effective feeding and cuddling organisms. Today is a day of tackling the emails and work tasks that lack of connectivity forced us to ignore as well as chipping away at the seemingly ever-expanding load of laundry piled high on the dining room floor (dressing in layers translates to LOTS of laundry loads!). Our jet lagged bodies seem to keep finding the bed for impromptu naps, Tiger often joining in, exhausted from playing with his buddies at the vet. Our muddled brains struggle to form coherent thoughts as our circadian rhythms straddle both coasts.

It feels great to be home. To be reunited with our animals and our routines.

Already, the sights and smells of Alaska feel like a dream. Too big to be real.

But it is. And those are memories that we will carry. Images that can be triggered by words or pictures, but never truly captured – the jade green of the water darkening into endless chasms, the soaring heights of the jagged cliffs, clouds dancing across their fronts like some teasing burlesque dance and the power of nature in its rawest forms.

I have yet to transfer the pictures from the camera or from my husband’s iPhone, but here are a few from my phone:

So much of Alaska reminded me of a Bob Ross painting. Look at all the happy trees!This was from a hike around the Mendenhall Glacier outside Juneau and there’s a story to tell about that day!The temperature seemed to always be 59 degrees. But that could mean shorts or winter coat!We drove a small Zodiac boat in Ketchikan. A bald eagle snatched a fish out of the water just feet in front of us!One of the coolest moments of my life – Tracy Arm Fjord and glacier from the hot tub!We were extremely lucky and never had rain, although it was almost always cloudy.It’s pretty amazing how close these ships can get to the water’s edge!I REALLY wanted to see moose in Haines. This was the closest I got!We tried to see a sunset every night to no avail (I think it’s a myth that the sun sets in Alaska in summer). We finally succeeded near Victoria BC! Cool detail – that’s the moon just above and to the left of the sun:)

I want to extend a thank you to all my guest posters and readers for taking care of the place while I was gone. I’ll try to catch up on comments and messages in the next couple days. After a nap.

Your post brings back bittersweet memories. My ex and I honeymooned in Alaska at the end of June in 1981 and visited some of the places you visited. We arrived at our first Alaskan night in Skagway and found that our motel had been taken over by the film crew of the movie “Never Cry Wolf” There were no other accommodations in town in those days so we ended up staying in someone’s tiny,tiny trailer (at the same rate as the motel!!!) with no curtains on the windows and the shower/bathroom was 21/2 feet square). Your photos remind me of how cold it was. Our rental car had holes in the floor!!! We did get to see moose though. If you haven’t seen Never Cry Wolf you should rent it-very educational…I have always said that it is a film that should be shown in high school science classes. I am sure you would appreciate it. Think of me freezing in a metal cube if and when you see it 🙂 Maybe the experience was an omen!!!

I remember going to Alaska as a kid. We never made than Ketchikan, but I recall it had one main street with both ends ending in dense forest. I had the best salmon I have ever had in my life there (caught that morning). And, I do recall the water as we flew in in a pontoon plane. Great sunset picture! As I recall, the sun never did set while we were there.